Foreign investors eyeing Indian start-ups |
Indian tech start-ups are likely to benefit as foreign investors are set to step up the hunt for Indian firms, after pumping in a record $30 billion via public and private equity deals in 2021. At the core of pragmatism in investment and growing economy is India`s large middle class with access to cheap smartphones and the internet. Global investors have flocked to online platforms and helped swell the ranks of unicorns, or start-ups valued at $1 billion or above. In addition, a regulatory clampdown by China on its technology firms is also making foreign investors to turn to India. The fundraising boom in Indian companies, ranging from an e-commerce platform to a food delivery app operator comes even as the Indian economy faces the risk from coronavirus variants. In private equity capital deals, which include placements and pre-IPO funding rounds, $22 billion has been raised so far in 2021, according to Pitchbook data, putting India on track to exceed 2020`s record of $37 billion. Of the amount raised in 2021, foreigners invested $13.21 billion in the first half of this year - the most ever - compared with $4.99 billion in the same period last year. In addition, there was $5.4 billion raised via 43 initial public offerings (IPOs) year to date, making it the busiest period ever, up sharply from $1.24 billion during the same time last year. IPO growth in India was about double the rate of growth in Asia, including Japan, in the first half, according to Refinitiv data, which show that $71.6 billion was raised in Asia, up from $31.08 billion in the period a year earlier. Big-ticket public offerings in the pipeline for the rest of the year include an up to $2.2-billion float by Indian digital payments firm Paytm, which counts China`s fintech giant Ant Group and Japan`s SoftBank among its backers.
|
|
|
|